From Colds to Waltzes
by tie-dye-flag
Summary: Oliver's down with a nasty cold in Hamelin while Marcassin's looking for the medicine ingredients, leaving Esther, Swaine, Drippy, and a certain red genie on their own. What sort of things happen when their wizard friend is out for the count?
1. Chapter 1

**(I do not own Ni No Kuni or its amazing characters. Hope you enjoy this little story :D )**

"Ah…ah…AH-CHOO!"

"Gesundheit, Ollie-boy! Knickers, that was a proper massive one!"

Oliver, a young 13-year old wizard, wiped his nose with the back of his white clad sleeve. This was not the first sneeze of the day; he had been sneezing for the past half hour, along with a cough here and there. Oliver and his friends had retrieved the final stone for the sacred wand, Mornstar, to defeat Shadar. This final stone was guarded by a ghostly skeleton pirate and his crew, and the battle took place on cold, stormy waters. After two hours of fighting, they finally retrieved the mystical stone, but at the price of not only bruises, a few cuts, and even having a certain ex-thief's gun damaged, but also at the cost of being completely soaked to the skin with a mixture of rain and sea water. Not an entirely pleasant experience.

Once the battle was won, the crew of the Sea Cow steered towards dry land, allowing their clothes a chance to dry as the waters calmed and the rain stopped. Immediately after they reached sweet, dry land, Oliver sounded the dragon horn, calling for their dragon friend, Tengri.

"Ah…Ah-choo!" The young wizard released a sneeze as he and the others began to climb onto their purple scaled mode of transportation. "Bless ya', Ollie-boy. You all tidy?" Mr. Drippy asked with a curious look in his eyes. Oliver crawled onto Tengri's back with a sniff. "It's okay, Mr. Drippy, I'm fine. It was just a sne-ah-ah-achoo!" Oliver turned away, covering his mouth with his arm.

"Just a sneeze, he says…"Swaine remarked with a smirk, but then raised an eyebrow when the sound of Oliver's coughing reached his ears. "I'm fine, really," the young boy sat at the front, at the dragon's green collar. "C'mon, Tengri, let's go!" Tengri glanced at his master with a worried glance before letting out a "Kyah!" and taking off to the skies.

The skies, where the air was cooler and the wind carried a chilly air around the party of five as they flew through whispy clouds of white. And this coldness hit Oliver the hardest, being in the front. AND was still sneezing and coughing.

"Ah-choo! Ah-ahchoo!"

"Gesundheit, Ollie-boy! You sure you're flippin' alright?"

"Sniff…Yeah, I'm fine." Oliver then coughed a few times, earning concerned looks from the fairy and Esther. They were on their way from Skull Mountain to Hamelin to unite the three oversized stones with the tiny holes of their wand, Mornstar. After some discussion of the problem on their hands with Prince Marcassin and then from a deceased spirit, it was decided that the group should journey to the North of Autumnia to find the Great Sage Khulan.

But, Esther insisted, not before they rest for a while. "You've been sneezing and coughing this whole time Oliver!"

"Yeah, and all that coughing of yours doesn't sound all that tidy to me, mun." Drippy's lamp shook side to side as he voiced his opinion.

"Yeah," even Swaine got in as he stared at his jacket pocket that housed his now damaged pistol, "and my gun's busted up pretty bad. I'm gonna need at least an hour to fix it." His body cocked to the side with a smirk, "And tinkering with my gun while flying on the back of Tengri doesn't sound like the best idea in the world."

Oliver didn't seem to hear them as he walked mechanically up the street ahead of them until he suddenly slowed and coughed again. "Oliver?" Esther jogged up to where he was, seeing his eyes were closed, and his knees slowly gave away to the yellowed brick road beneath him. "Oliver!" the blonde caught him just in time to save his head from reaching the hard, merciless ground.

"Oi! Ollie-boy! Ollie-boy! You okay?" Drippy bounced up and down feverishly and his lantern swayed violently. Swaine came around and felt the wizard's forehead. "You do seem to have a bit of a temperature…"

Esther carefully draped the small boy's arm over her shoulders. "We have to get him to a doctor. He's in no condition to go searching for Khulan!"

* * *

The doctor carefully removed the thermometer from Oliver's mouth, inspecting it. His bushy mustache released a thoughtful "Hmmm…," as he read the device. Esther, Drippy, and even Marcassin gathered around the bed with worry while Swaine tinkered quietly with his gun at a table on the opposite side of the room.

"Oi, doc, is Ollie-boy gonna be okay?" The doctor glanced at the bobbing fairy. "He's caught a small cold, nothing too serious, but being all wet and worn out from other day, as you described to me, made it more intense. Must have caught it while traveling," The mustached doctor then stared to dig through his bag of medical tools on the floor. "He needs plenty of rest and some medicine…if…I can find it…Oh dear." Esther was alarmed at this, "What is it?" The doctor's mustache was now in a frown. "I'm out of the cold medicine…and I can't make any more!"

Everybody looked disappointed, except for the young Prince.

"Wait…you make your own medicine?"

"Yes, my wife and I have been hand-making herbal medicines for the past forty years."

"So," the prince's eyes suddenly had a gleam in them, "you know the ingredients for the medicine, correct?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes, I've been doing it for so long I have almost every recipe memorized…"

Suddenly Drippy caught on. "Ooh, I see what you're flippin' on about now! You're a proper genius! Tidy!" The fairy then ran and dove head-first into the bottomless bag and began searching for something, pulling out other things like clothes and weapons in the process. He then popped out with a large purple and gold pot with Oliver's swimming trunks flopped on the lid.

"Oi, I bet ol' Al will help us!" The timid doctor was confused, but was even more baffled when the cauldron began to shake as lilac smoke leaked out in puffs out of the pot. With a poof, a burly red-skinned genie popped out of the container, his face covered in his master's swim suit.

"Hmm?" He tossed it aside before continuing, "I heard everything, my friends! My master is ill and is in need of my alchemy skills, no?"

Esther jumped with joy. "Of course! As long as we have the ingredients, we can make the medicine right here!"

While the doctor was still flabbergasted by this genie's entrance, Marcassin curiously approached the purple turbaned friend, "So you're Oliver's genie?"

"That's correct, my long haired friend. And you are a friend of my master, no?" "Correct, my name is Prince Marcassin, ruler of Hamelin, a friend of the young wizard Oliver."

The genie nodded, almost impressed with this young man's politeness, "I see. I am Al-Khemi, Genie of the Cauldron, but many call me Al. However," a glint had appeared in his eye, "you're right to call me by my nickname will be judged…In battle!"

He then pulled out a shield and…an old mop. "Huh? Not again!"

Esther waved her arms in front of Al. "No, no, Al, that won't be necessary, really! We really need your help now! Remember Oliver?" She gestured towards Oliver, still asleep in the bed.

The genie snapped out of his battle trance and hastily stuffed his weapons back into his cauldron. "Hmm, yes, so what do we need?" The timid doctor was still in a little shock and his mouth was open in awe. Swaine glanced over to the doctor, "Don't worry, he's always like that. Just be glad he didn't pull out his sword," and continued to examine his gun.

Esther noticed this and marched up to him, "How can you worry over your gun at a time like this? Our friend is sick and all you're doing is messing with your pistol!"

As the two argued, the prince attempted to calm the doctor and ask for the ingredients. "Well," the doctor began, twitching his mustache to the side, "I've always made cold medicine with two fogdrops…a bunch of booster shoots, and two old oak leaves…oh, and this isn't an ingredient, but it'd be a good idea to prepare some spring water for the young boy to drink."

"I'm on it, doc!" Drippy dove once again into the bag in search for the ingredients. After several minutes of digging, he emerged with a concerned frown.

"Oi, all I found was the two old oak leaves. We're short on the rest of the ingredients!" Everybody stared disbelievingly at the tiny fairy as he held two green leaves. Even Swaine paused his tinkering and looked over his shoulder.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to go fetch them, eh?" his voice cut though the silence.

Esther suddenly forgot about their argument and paced to the other side of the room in thought. "Um, I think fogdrops grow on Jack Frost's Playground, one of the southern Winter Isles...and we can get the water and shoots from the Rolling Hills…"

"But those places are pretty far from Hamelin…and it'd take quite a few weeks by boat," The doctor gazed down at his shoes.

"But we have Tengri!"Esthers optimistic voice called out, "If we don't dawdle, we could get them all in no time!"

"O' course! Travel with Tengri is way flippin' faster than by sea! Now that's tidy!" Drippy bounced around with glee.

"Well, I'M not going to get them," Swaine turned back around to his pistol, "My gun still needs some fixing and like I said before, there's no way I'm tinkering with my pistol while on the back of a dragon."

This earned him a disapproving glare from Esther. "Well, then I guess I'll do it!"

"Hold on a minute, lass," Drippy's lamp swung towards Esther, "Ollie-boy here's sick and he's gonna need some help until we get that medicine, and I'm thinkin' your healing hymn can help keep his crikey cold down 'til then."

"Well, then it's settled then," Prince Marcassin stood in front of the door, "I'll go and get the ingredients. You three stay here and watch over Oliver."

"Oi, you sure mun? You know where all those places are and all?"

Marcassin nodded to the tiny fairy, "Yes. I am a sage, and I've done a little alchemy myself, and I'm familiar with the ingredients as well. My only concern," he scratched his head for a moment, "is how to fly on the dragon. I've never even seen one up close, let alone ridden one."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that!" Esther began to dig through the bag for the dragon horn, "Tengri's a very friendly dragon and riding him is no problem! You'll just need this horn to call him." She held up the long horn to the prince and he accepted the instrument.

"Very well, I shall leave at once. I'll be back as soon as I can!" He then left for the quest of cold medicine ingredients.

"So," The doctor glanced at Esther, "how long do you think he'll be gone?"

"Um, a couple of hours, maybe. Will Oliver be okay in the meantime?"

"Well, as long as he rests I think he'll be fine," he began to pack up his tools and stood up. "If anything happens to him or there are any changes in his condition, just holler." The elderly doctor made his leave with a gentle click of the door.

A brief silence held up after that click, and was then ended by Drippy's voice. "Well, that was all tidy, eh? I guess we wait now, hm?" he cocked his long nose to the side for a moment before continuing, "Oi! Esther, we should stock up on provisions while we're here. After all, we burnt through them while we were with ol' bone-face. That sound tidy to you?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'll go and swing by Hootenanny right now! I'll be right back!" The young girl jogged out immediately and left just the fairy, genie, and pickpocket in the room, along with a sleeping Oliver.

"So what about you, mun?"

Swaine raised an eyebrow towards the fairy, "Hm? What do ya' mean?"

"I mean are you just gonna stay there tinkerin' with that flippin' gun of yours?" Drippy jumped upon the table to get a better look at the injured gun. It was a bit bent at the barrel and the rest of it was taken apart in a small pile of machinery and seaweed, as though it just barely survived a hurricane. Swaine was attempting to clean and repair his beloved contraption as Drippy's lamp inched closer to what remained of the gun.

"This would be a lot easier with you OUT of the way."

"Humph! Crikey, for flippin' heck, I was just lookin'!" The fairy jumped off the table, out of the man's way. He then hopped to the side table next to Oliver's bed. "Blimey, I hope Marcassin hurries up with those things…Ollie-boy doesn't look too good."

The proud genie crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Well, the best we can do for now is to let the master rest. I shall be in my cauldron if you need my magic!" And with that, he disappeared back into the purple container in a puff of lilac smoke. The air was then still with the sounds of Swaine's attempts to repair his gun and the soft hum of a generator just outside of the clinic.


	2. Chapter 2

The psssssst of steam filled the streets outside as well as the footsteps along the worn, yellowed brick road. This time, Esther's footsteps graced the roads of Hamelin with the pat, pat, pat of her slipper shoes. Carrying two bags full of sandwiches, coffees, a few phoenix feathers, and a handful of sleep-be-gones, she briskly walked down the streets lined with black lampposts. She passed generators and gears sticking out beside steampunk style buildings of metal.

As she went down stairs of worn down metal, her thoughts returned to Oliver's condition and of Swaine's selfishness earlier. _"How can that idiot even think about his gun at a time like this? Oliver, our friend, is sick and stuck in bed, and all he can do is tinker with that stupid pistol of his!" _She finally reached the main street of the industrial kingdom, walking over the railroad-like grooves of the ground designed to move buildings out of the way for Royal Processions. They had dull shines to them but still refused to break down from all their use over the years.

The ceiling of the large fortress of a kingdom was foggy with smoke, steam, and smog; and the air matched it. It was thick and had the scent of burning and industry. _"How do people breathe this air every single day? I'm not sure this is good for Oliver's health, in his current condition-" _Her train of thought was brought to a halt when she bumped into something tall with the smell of old clothes as she dropped her bags. "Oof! Oh, I'm so sorr-oh," she then realized who she had run into.

The last person she wanted to see.

"Gee, watch where you're going, Esther." Swaine brushed some imaginary dust off his jacket sleeve. "If you're not careful, you're gonna get run over or somethin'."

"So what are YOU doing here?" The blonde put her hands on her hips, staring at him with blue orbs of frustration. "Who's looking after Oliver?"

"The fairy and that lunatic genie are. I just came out to stretch my legs." He stretched his arms over his head as he continued, "I've been at it with my gun for the past half hour. Cleaning all that sea junk out is such a pain and-"

"Is more important than the health of a friend?" Her eyes were glazed in an emotion that Swaine did not desire. "Ever since we got the final stone, all you've been doing is fussing over that gun while Oliver was sneezing and coughing and you didn't do anything about it!"

"Well, he kept insisting he was fine, so I just assumed it was nothing. Besides, my pistol-"

"Is a bigger concern than Oliver, a human being, versus a lump of metal?"

"No, it's that without my gun-"

"You're a useless coward, that's what!"

This sentence made the man twitch irritably. "I am NOT useless nor a coward, gun or not." He stared down at the shorter girl, towering over her by a head and a half at least.

"Oh, really?" Esther's eyes had a blue fire to them as she stared back to his older brown eyes; his eyes held a similar fire as well.

"Yeah. Have you forgotten my familiars? Or did you simply forget about them, Little Miss Familiar Tamer?"

_Snap!_

That. That was it. Esther's fire flamed up and out of control. "Gogo!" She called out to her familiar and out from her chest the loyal Electrongo popped out. With a gibbered chirp, the plump bird raised its staff and casted Dropsicle. A large deadly icicle appeared out of the air and came crashing down.

Swaine would have been hit by the lump of deadly frozen water had he not jumped back in time. "Hmph. So that's how you're gonna play, eh?" He stood up, brushing off debris from his jacket. "C'mon out, boy!" With that simple command, Swaine's own familiar, Gunther, dove out with his large arms flexing threateningly.

The groceries now long forgotten, Esther said, "How about it? I challenge you to a familiar battle! Let's see how useful you are without your gun!" as she pointed her finger at Swaine.

"Hmph, Fine. But on the condition that you don't use your harp; this will be a pure familiar showdown."

"…Challenge accepted. Go, Gogo!" The familiar began to charge towards Gunther, preparing for the move of Thunderbolt. "Gunther! Show them what I'm made of!" The Hurlabaloo growled as it prepared for his move; Rockfall.

And so the battle began. A crowd began to form around them, curious about this commotion; they had never seen anything like this on the streets of Hamelin! Some began to even cheer for one side or the other. The cries of the battle could be heard all the way down the industrial streets…even from the local clinic.

* * *

"Got any eights?"

The genie shook his head, "Go fish, my fairy friend."

Drippy pulled out another card from the deck. "Knickers…"

"Do you have any-" Al-Khemi was suddenly interrupted by the sound of…thunder?

"Is there a storm outside?"

"It sure sounds like it, mun," Drippy raised his lantern up to glance at the window, revealing a view of the smog-caked ceiling of the structure the kingdom resided in. "But there's a roof over the city, so we don't have to worry about a flipping thing. That's tidy-"

There was then a…boom?

Drippy jumped in alarm at this new noise."Crikey, what's goin' on? That didn't sound like a flipping storm at all!" The red genie floated to the window for a better look, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary for the industrial city…but something _sounded_ out of the ordinary.

"Come to think of it…how long ago has the master's blonde friend, Esther, been gone?"

Drippy cocked his head to the side and crossed his tiny arms, "Hmmm…I'd say a while, mun, but it shouldn't take this long for one to hop from the store and back here" His lantern swayed to the other side before continuing, "And the ol' pickpocket's been gone a bit too long too…This doesn't feel tidy at all, mun."

Al-Khemi crossed his burly arms just as there was another sound, but this one was hard to put his magical finger on. It was like…a landslide, or of rocks raining down maybe.

But then another sound reached his ears; the groggy voice of Oliver.

"…Uuhg… …?...Mr. Al…?" Oliver cracked open his eyelids with a cough. Drippy and Al-Khemi came next to Oliver.

"Oi, Ollie-boy! You're awake!"

"How are you feeling, master? Any better?"

Oliver's answer was a sneeze. "A little…but where's Esther and Swaine?"

"Oh they left a while ago to go out and about." Oliver attempted to get out of bed, but was stopped by Drippy's bouncing. "Oh no you don't, Ollie-boy, you need your rest."

"The fairy is right. And don't worry, for we sent your long haired prince friend to go get some ingredients for your med-" There was another boom, but this time followed by the sound of shouting.

"What's that noise…? Is it Shadar…?" "Nah, Ollie-boy, I dun think it's that…but whatever the flipping heck it is, it's got me worried about Esther and Swaine."

Al-Khemi stared at the window for a long moment after responding, "That's it! Drippy, you stay here with the master and keep your eye on him. I'm going to investigate this matter."

The genie began to "hop" his pot to the door. "Oi, Al, you think that's a tidy idea?" Drippy bounced over, following the genie outside the door.

"As a genie, if it's some sort of fight going on, I have a much better chance of settling it."

The fairy's mouth was wide open in shock for a moment before saying, "What the flip, mun! I'm Lord High Lord of the Fairies, en't I? I bet I-"

"Besides, Drippy…" The genie of the now hopping pot continued, "I think, being a closer personal friend to master, you'd have a better chance at convincing him to stay in beaaAHH!"

The red genie had not been watching where he was hopping, and had fallen down the stairs to the clinic's lobby. "Owowowow…"Al-Khemi rubbed his aching head that was hit by his pot in the fall before continuing to hop to the door. "Sigh…what I'd give to have legs!"

"But you do!"

"Eh?"

The genie turned around to see the lantern fairy calling out to him from the top of the stairs. "Yeah! You've got three legs on that cauldron of yours! Ahahahaha!" The fairy chuckled with pride of his little joke as Al-Khemi merely rolled his eyes.

"…Very funny. Now go keep an eye on the master!" And with that, out the door he hopped.

* * *

With a flex of his burly little arms, Gunther executed Sling Stone, hitting Esther's Sweetpea Sprite. The crowd continued to stare at this battle between a young girl and a thin man with their familiars.

"Ha! Take that, Babana Girl!" Swaine taunted to his opponent.

"Hmph. Is that all you've got, Prince of Swine?" Esther capped right on back.

"Why you little-Purrince, give her what for!" Gunther was then switched out by the man's Puss in Boats. His sword shone mercilessly in his tiny paws. He dashed towards the enemy's familiar, but not fast enough; the sprite disappeared into Esther's heart, only to be replaced by Gogo, preparing his staff to strike an electric blow. The cat warrior was helplessly electrocuted with his fur standing at his ends. When the Electrongo was done with his work, the Puss in Boats looked more like a cat with a bad hair day in a pirate suit.

This was followed by a hiss and the deadly move of Slice 'n' Dice. Now the Elecrongo looked like a fat, purple lump of split-end feathers.

The cat chuckled in a hissing manner at this ridiculous sight. He was then aware of the ginormous pulsing vein on the bird's head with an evil shine in its eyes, matched only by its master's eyes.

"Gogo, give it you're all!" Obeying its master's command, it began to charge up a massive electric ball of energy and destruction before charging straight towards its target.

"Gunther, don't hold back now boy!" Swaine switched out the pussy cat fighter with the burly blue familiar that immediately began to charge up an attack of its own; a roaring sphere of fire, glowing red like the Hurlabaloo's rage. It began to sprint towards the Electrongo with a similar intensity.

They dashed towards each other at a blinding speed. Who would win this? Electricity or fire? The plump bird or the hurly creature? The blonde girl or the lanky man?

These questions flashed though everybody's mind in those split seconds before a puff of lavender smoke and a flaming sword came in between the two familiars at the last second.

With a firey slice, the dueling creatures were sent flying back, almost unconscious; and sending their masters down with them. Swaine fell face first on the cold brick road as Esther landed on her side. Esther, now sore all over her body, raised her head to see the source of the unexpected third party attack. Swaine did the same but with a muttered curse under his breath.

In the middle of the area they battled in stood-or floated-a familiar red genie with a purple turban and golden bracelets holding a shield and a flaming sword. "Al-Khemi?!" Both of the fighters shouted at the same time.

"Hmph," Al stuffed his weapons back into his cauldron and then pulled out two tonics, tossing one to each of them. "I don't know what you were doing, but it looks like you could use these."

As Esther pulled the cork of the bottle and began to drink the bitter liquid, Swaine pointed at the bottle, confused. "Wait, you had these things in your pot this whole time?"

"Yes, but only some rare items for emergencies. I usually save them for tributes for masters."

He then glanced to the side to see two plain brown bags with some sandwiches and sleep-be-gones spilt out but surprisingly not damaged. As Swaine drank his tonic with a grimace Esther jogged over and picked up the bags. "How's Oliver? Is he okay?"

"He should be fine. I left the fairy to look after the master, so I hope they're okay. But," he glared at the two of them, now finished with the bitter tonics, "what in the world were the two of you up to, fighting out here in the street?" His voice wasn't so much scolding as it was curious.

The blonde girl began, "Well…we had an argument…and I challenged Swaine to a familiar fight for him to prove if he was useful without his gun or not-"

"Which I did!" Swaine interjected, "See? I'm not some useless coward, eh?"

"You big liar! You nearly collapsed!"

"W-well, yeah, but so did you!"

"Enough!" Al-Khemi bellowed at the bickering couple. "I think it's safe to say…" he scratched his long black beard in thought, "That the winner is…Yours truly!"

"…Huh?!"

"Well, I did beat you and I believe I'm not what you'd call a 'useless coward', so it's fair to say I'm the winner." All Swaine and Esther could do was stare disbelievingly at their genie friend before he continued.

"So…as the winner of this 'familiar showdown'-"

"Wait! You didn't fight with a familiar!"

"Yeah, doesn't that disqualify you or something?"

"Well, then consider it punishment for worrying me and the fairy!" Al-Khemi thought for a moment on this while glancing at the two before a mischievous glint was seen in his eyes. "Aha! I've got _just _the thing for the two of you!" With a scheming grin on his face, he began to dig through his cauldron, pulling out random things in the process; a box of tissues, some tennis balls, and couple of comic books, just to name a few.

As the crowd that had gathered during the fight fidgeted anxiously, Esther and Swaine exchanged worried stares; just what was their red genie friend planning?


	3. Chapter 3

From Colds to Waltzes

Ch3: A Dance for Two

In the Rolling Hills of the Summerlands, Prince Marcassin was crouched by a river collecting spring water. Carefully collecting the crystal clear water into a fifth canteen, he then stood up. His long black hair danced behind his pretty face as the wind blew past him. The air was so much cleaner than the smoggy collection of smoke and steam he was so used to breathing to back home.

He inhaled deeply, savoring the pureness of the air here. _"I wish we could have air this clean back in Hamelin. Not just for me, but I bet everybody would enjoy it."_ The prince began to walk alongside the river bed, still lost in thought. _"I wonder if we could somehow harness magic and our machinery to create a device to filter the air…That could work. Once we've defeated Shadar, I'll start the research immedien-"_

"Whoa!" The prince had slipped on a stone and nearly fell in the cold, wet river, but was saved as something caught him, protectively clamping his jacket sleeve.

He looked up to see Tengri, the purple dragon, gently pulling him away from the near wet accident. "Kyah? Kya!"

"Why, thank you, Tengri. Esther wasn't kidding when she said you were a friendly dragon." Tengri then began to nuzzle his head next to the prince's body affectionately. "Haha, okay, be careful, you may push me into the river!"

Climbing onto the purple reptile's back with the canteens and placing them into a sack, he called out to the dragon, "Okay, Tengri, we now have everything, so let's head back to help your master!"

"Kyaah!" Tengri stretched his majestic wings and took to the skies to the east, to Hamelin.

"_I wonder how Oliver and the others are doing…I hope everything's okay…"_

* * *

"Aha! I found them!" Al-Khemi struggled to pull out two pieces of fabric from his cauldron that appeared to be stuck, "Hurg, huurg! C'mon!"

Esthrer tilted her head to the side in confusion, "What are you planning, Al?"

"Oh, you'll…see…just as …soon…as I…get…these…OUT!" With a final tug, the clothes he was trying to pull out were finally free.

Both Esther and Swaine stared in shock at the two outfits the genie held.

In one hand he held a classy black tux with a pale green vest and a darker green tie. The other hand held up a poofy pink gown with frilly layers and golden ribbons around the waist and fluffy sleeves that sparkled in the light.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You want us to wear those things?!" Swaine's voice was layered in disbelief and a slight panic.

"No, not just that my thieving friend," Swaine appeared unamused at this nickname, "For making the fairy and I worry for you and for losing to me in battle, the two of you must do one command from me; and that is…" he paused for emphasis, "To dance out here in the streets, in these!" He proudly and mischievously held up the elaborate outfits for all to see.

The couple's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates-and Esther dropped her groceries yet again- before crying out, "…WHAAT?!"

"There's no way I'm dancing with him!" Esther stomped her foot on the ground.

"Oh no, I'm not getting into that tux. Nope, not in a million years. No way." Swaine waved his arms out in front of him in his attempt to make his statement clear.

The genie draped the dress over his shoulder, "Oh, don't worry, the tux isn't for you."

Swaine raised an eyebrow at this, not sure to be relieved or worried. "Eh?"

Al placed the tuxedo into his pot before briskly but carefully grabbing Esther-who responded with a yelp-and placing her into the pot, too. He placed the lid back on tight and began to shake it as if he was mixing a drink. After a minute of shaking, he popped open the lid and out tumbled Esther; but now clad in the handsome black and green tuxedo.

The girl slowly got to her bearings and examined her body. "Huh…? I'm in the tuxedo…?"

"Wait a second…" Swaine shifted his gaze between the ridiculous dress and Esther's current attire, "If she's in the tux, then…oh no."

His eyes grew wide in realization of what this meant. He began to make a mad sprint out of there to avoid his embarrassing fate but it was too late. Al-Khemi scooped him up into his pot with the pink dress and began to shake it in a similar manner to Esther's. The man's protests could be heard in muffled shouts from the container.

But the genie continued to shake and mix the contents of his pot …

* * *

Drippy's lantern tilted to the side as the little fairy pondered the situation. Oliver was fast asleep in bed again while Al had been gone for about half an hour; not that long but long enough to make the fairy think. The noises had stopped but Drippy still couldn't shake the feeling he was missing out on something important-or big at least.

"Knickers…what's a Lord High Lord of the Fairies to do?" He jumped down from the window to pace on the floor of the clinic room. _"I really want to see what the flipping fuss was about and how ol' Al's doing, but somebody's gotta watch over Ollie-boy in case he gets up. The lad's asleep now, sure, but what if he wakes up while I'm away and tries to get out of bed? Oi, that wouldn't be tidy at all…"_ He shook his lantern side to side, "_But I'm still worried about Esther and Swaine…mun, those two bicker so much they make oil and water look like best friends! How would they fare without me or Ollie-boy with 'em to break it up?"_

Just then Dr. Bushystache came in. "Oi, doc, it's you!" Drippy jumped a bit, startled from his thoughts. The doctor's gaze met Drippy's, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you jump…literally."

Drippy wrapped his tiny arms behind his head, "Oi, it's alright mun, no biggie."

"So, how's the young boy? It was...Oliver, was it?"

"Yep, Ollie-boy seems to be 'bout the same. He came to 'bout half an hour ago but I convinced him to stay in bed."

"Hm, that's good. Did the prince return with the ingredients yet? And where did the others go?"

"Nope, princey-boy isn't here yet. As for the others, well, Esther, the blond lass, left a while ago to get some groceries, then Swaine left to stretch his legs, and after playing some Go Fish with Al, that red fella, he left to check on what all that flippin' racket was earlier."

The doctor nodded, "I see. I heard that racket was two people fighting in Main Street with these strange creatures…A blonde and a brown haired man, I think…wait." The doctor stopped what he was doing and stared at the fairy; his gaze was mirrored by Drippy's.

"…Did you hear anything else 'bout these fighters, mun?"

"Um…yes, a patient said one fought with a plump, purple bird while the other had…a blue muscular animal, I think."

"Crikey!" That was enough for Drippy, "It's Esther and Swaine, I know it! I feel it in me lantern, I do! Doc, keep an eye on Ollie-boy, I gotta go!" With that, Drippy ran out at a lightning speed and before the doctor could respond, the fairy was already outside, running up the streets.

* * *

"Hey, lemme out of here!" Swaine's muffled shouts continued as the genie shook the pot.

"Not yet! Just hang on a little longer…" Al-Khemi's tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he concentrated on his task. After a little more shaking, he asked "Okay, are you ready?"

"Wha-?! Wait, no, NO, DON'T! I CAN'T BE SEEN IN TH-"The thief's frantic cries were ignored as Al-Khemi dumped him out on the hard road-and in his new outfit.

What a ridiculous sight it was! A lanky old man-now blushing furiously-in a pink pretty dress in the middle of the street. Laughter was heard from every direction. Even Esther could hardly contain her laugh as she struggled to hide her grin and giggling behind her hands.

"Al! Give me back my clothes right now! I can't be seen in this!" The man's angry face and tight fist only added to the comicalness of his appearance.

"I will, but only after you dance!" The genie's scheming grin never ceased to show. "Just consider this payback for stealing my cauldron back in Castaway Cove." He then began to start searching the contents of his pot yet again.

"For Pete's sake, I was broken-hearted! And that-"

_Whoosh!_ A grey coffee cup whizzed by his head, missing by inches. Al-Khemi continued to throw stuff out as he dug even deeper into the pot, sending some pens, a bobble head, and his parasol flying out with other random objects.

Swaine's face still showed clear signs of his anger and embarrassment as he marched up to the pot. "Look, there is ABSOLUTLY no way I'm going to dance in this thwoAH!" Tripping on the pink garment, he landed face first again on the road.

"Grr…dammit," He tried to stand back up, gathering the fluffy material in his arms, "How the hell do women walk in these?"

"H-hey, just be happy he didn't make you wear high heels too! HahaHAHA!" Esther couldn't hold back her laughter anymore and was now bent over holding her stomach from all the laughing.

Al-Khemi finally found what he was looking for and struggled to pull it out-not because it was stuck, but due to its weight. It was a mammoth sized record player, taller than the buildings around the street.

"Hmph, so what are you gonna make us dance to, Caramelldansen?" Swaine sarcastically asked with a roll of his eyes. This only made Esther laugh harder; she was now rolling on the cold hard ground but she didn't mind. The image of Swaine doing that ridiculous dance-and in that dress-resulted in even more laughter.

"Actually…this." Al-Khemi held up a huge record-big enough for the mammoth record player.

Swaine squinted his eyes and read aloud the cover, "…The Hamelin Waltz…?"

Al-Khemi nodded, "Yes, but I may have some other songs too…I think I might have some disco albums in here somewhe-"

"Um, no thanks, we're good." Swaine interrupted the genie, shuddering at the thought of having to disco dance.

Al-Khemi placed the record on the player and after a few seconds of silence, graceful music filled the air of Hamelin with its waltz.

"Sigh… there's no way out of this one, is there?"Swaine asked aloud. Reluctantly, he extended his hand towards the tuxedo clad blonde. Wiping a tear from her eye from all the laughing, she looks up to see Swaine's face; not looking at her in the eye. "Let's get this over with, I guess." Swaine continued to look away as he talked with discomfort in his voice.

"But…I"ve never waltzed before. I don't have any idea how to waltz."

The man glanced in the girl's direction, discovering her eyes were pointed to her feet, blushing. "I-I may be a dancer…but…I don't know how to waltz…" Embarrassment was seen in her eyes as she shifted her body, ashamed.

She was then surprised to feel Swaine's calloused hand taking hers and holding it up as his other arm went to her waist. "Just…Just follow my lead…I know how to waltz, and…I'm sure you'll catch on."

Esther stared at him for a moment before laughing again. "W-what's so funny?" Swaine seemed to get more embarrassed by the minute.

"Hahah…I'm going to have to follow you, of all people, and while you're in a dress, haha!" Esther got her laugh out of her system before making eye contact with him. "But okay. I'll trust you on this."

* * *

In the rust colored streets of Hamelin, a tiny fairy darted across in search of his friends. "Ooooooiiiiiiiiiiiii! Esther! Swaine! Al-Khemi! Where the flipping heck are ya?" Drippy hollered out, but his answer was only the hiss of steam and clanking echo of machinery.

"Blimey, where could they be?"

"Drippy?"

Drippy bounced around to see a familiar young man with long black hair carrying a sack walk towards him. "Crikey, it's you Marcassin! You're back in one piece, mun!"

"Yes, and I brought all the ingredients for Oliver's cold medicine. Tengri was very fast…and friendly." He held up the sack containing some fogdrops, booster shoots, and five canteens full of water.

"Oi, that's good to hear," the fairy jumped on a nearby post box to be at eye level with the pretty boy before continuing, "But we've got another problem on our hands now."

"What is it? Did a monster attack while I was away?" The prince's worry was evident in his green eyes as well as his voice.

"Nah, mun, it's Esther and Swaine. I think the two of them were duking it out and Al went to go check it out but they haven't been back for a while…not that long, but long enough for me to get a bad feeling in my lantern."

"Where are they?"

"If I did, everything would be all tidy by now, but no, mun, I haven't the fog-"Suddenly, graceful music was echoing though the air. This music made its way to the fairy's and prince's ears, halting the conversation.

"That's…" Marcassin closed his eyes to concentrate on the tune,"…The Hamelin Waltz."

"What, you've got your own waltz? Blimey, I knew this place had a lot of things, but I never expected a waltz." The fairy then turned his lantern skyward as his tiny hand scratched his head, "But why's it playing? There a ball or some tidy dance going on?"

"No, at least not one I was informed on…"

"Hmm, well, maybe we should investigate!" Drippy bounced down from his perch, "Maybe Al and the others are there! Yeah, I bet they are, I can feel it in my lantern! My lantern's got a tidy feeling about this!"

The Lord High Lord of the Fairies dashed down the street, led by his tiny ears, and was followed by the prince of Hamelin, who hollered "Wait, Mr. Drippy slow down!" as he ran after him.

* * *

"…For a thief, you're pretty good at dancing, Swaine."

"…You're not so bad yourself…for a girl in a tux." He smirked, but his mouth was then twisted in discomfort as he felt her heel smash down on his foot. "You think I WANT to be in this thing?"

They continued to sway in motion of the music, Esther following Swaine's footsteps on the brick and iron-railed street. The crowd still watched them as if they're eyes were glued to this sight; a man in a dress and a tuxedo-clad girl waltzing out in the middle of the street. How often do you see _that_?

"So…where did you learn to waltz?" Esther brought her eyes to Swaine's brown ones. "It's not like one of the skills you'd expect a thief to have."

"Well, I had to take lessons back when…I was still a prince…Gascon…" His eyes averted hers slightly. Talking about his past was usually a pain for the man, but he didn't feel like dodging the question this time, for some reason. "It was a 'requirement' of being a prince…at least that's what my parents always told me and Marcassin when we were little."

"Did you ever have to dance with him?" Esther giggled at this idea. Swaine then gave her a spin as he answered in his sarcastic voice, "Are you kidding? You saw us fifteen years ago; he was barely half my height back then. I'd probably end up walking over him!" They both laughed a bit before another thought entered Swaine's mind.

"Hey…how do you think this dress would look on pretty boy?"

"On Marcassin…? Pfft, on Prince Marcassin-hahaha!" The image of the handsome prince in Swaine's dress had caused her laughter to re-erupt.

"He'd be _Princess_ Marcassin then!" Esther was spun by Swaine once again.

"Or Princess _Marcassinette_!" He laughed as well, the idea of his younger brother in something even more ridiculous (in his opinion) than his normal, royal clothes.

…What they didn't know was the very same prince was watching them from the crowd and had heard almost every word. Drippy, perched on the pretty boy's head, failed at holding in his laughter. "Hohoho, Princess Marcassinette! Oi, that's a good one mun, hohoho!" His lantern bobbed with his laugh while Marcassin lowered his head in embarrassment, nearly making the fairy roll off. "Oi, seriously, with the right clothes and a bit of make-up, you could-"He gazed down to see for the first time the prince's embarrassment.

"…Oi, sorry, mun, I didn't realize you were taking it so serious like."

Marcassin made eye contact, seeing the fairy didn't mean to make him feel poorly on purpose. "…It's okay, I accept your apology." The duo then continued to watch the couple waltz on the floor, deciding to stay quiet for the time.

"What about Oliver? Or Drippy?"

"Haha, they'd have to grow a bit to be able to wear the dress first!"

After a few more steps, Swaine then said, "Or you? How do ya' think this would look on you?" Esther looked up in surprise at this. "Wh-what, me?" She shook her head, "No, no I doubt I'd look good in that dress."

Swaine raised an eyebrow at this. "…Well, I think you'd look better than me in it, at least."

Esther's eyebrow cocked up, but then added, "…Well, when you put it that way, I think you wouldn't look half bad in this tux."

Swaine's head tilted to the side. "…You think?"

"Yes, if we made it a bit bigger to fit you, that is."

They swayed to the music for a few more moments before the oversized record player reached the end of its song, the needle returning to its original position. There was a pause in the air, and then some applause for the eccentric couple's dancing. Even Al-Khemi clapped his huge hands as he hopped closer to them with his pot.

"See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" The genie smirked playfully.

The two were still a bit embarrassed. "I completely forgot we had an audience…"Swaine swatted his forehead in shame as Esther tried to hide her blush behind her palms.

"Oi, there's no need to be ashamed of such tidy dancing!"

"What?!" Swaine and Esther jerked their heads up to be greeted by the sight of the loud fairy sitting on the handsome head of a very familiar prince.

"Yes, Gascon, it's been a while since I've seen you waltz…and it looks like you still got it." Marcassin smiled to his brother in exchange for Swaine's shocked face.

Swaine and Esther were deadly silent for an awkward moment before Swaine came to.

He franticly turned to the genie responsible for this mess. "Al! We did as you told us to, so give us back our clothes! NOW!" Swaine sprinted to the pot and jumped right in the pool of light purple smoke. This was then followed by a pained "OWCH!" that obviously belonged to Swaine.

Al-Khemi looked into his home, grimacing. "Oohh…that had to hurt…" Replacing the lid on the container, he began to re-shake it.

Meanwhile, Drippy couldn't contain his curiosity of the events that had been occurring without him. "So, how did you and Swainey start dancing in the first place? And in those tidy costumes? Hahaha!"

"Um…well…it's a long story…"

"Hmm...well, all I flippin' know is you were in a tidy tux, Swaine was in a flipping dress-ho ho!-and the two of you were dancing the night away while lost in each other's eyes!" Drippy fluttered his eyes in a dreamy fashion to illustrate his last part.

"Wh-wha-no, that's not what happened at all! This was Al's idea! And I wasn't lost in his stupid brown eyes!" She ranted to the fairy like a lunatic-and at poor prince Marcassin's expense.

"Oi, brown you say!" Drippy hopped off Marcassin's head to the ground, "And I bet a hundred lanterns he said you're eyes were like blue orbs of magic or somethin' romantic like!"

"No no no no no! You've got it all wrong, that's not it at all, and for your information, he didn't say a word about my eyes, and they're just fine!" The blonde was now blushing so red she looked like she had spilt red paint all over her cheeks.

"Boy, wait 'till Ollie-boy hears this! Oi, this is gonna be good!" The fairy dashed away from the now departing crowd in the direction of the clinic while singing, _"Swaine and Esther, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-tidy!"_

"What?! No NO IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! DRIPPY DON'T YOU DARE!" She ran like a madman-or madwoman in a tuxedo-after the jolly fairy.

"Esther, Drippy, wait please!" Marcassin called out to them as Al-Khemi looked up from his shaking and said, "Hm? Esther wait! I still have your clothes and I need my tuxedo back!"

In the midst of his talking, his grip on the pot loosened, causing Swaine to tumble out-in nothing but his tattered, faded boxers.

"Oof…Huh?" Swaine glanced at his body, blushing so red it was as though his cheeks were painted over in red paint _twice_, "Wha-?! AL!" He stared accusingly at the genie, rage mixed with his embarrassment.

Al held up his arms defensively, "It was an accident! I promise!"

"Well, you're gonna need more than a promise right now…" he raised his arm, revealing a now fixed pistol, aimed at the genie.

"Huh? You fixed your gun?"

"Yeah, and if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I never let my gun out of sight!" With a _pow_ the gun fired, missing the genie by mere centimeters as he dodged the bullet.

"Hmph! You want to fight! Fine! To arms!" Al-Khemi pulled out a lamp and a feather duster. "Huh? Arrgh! Where are they?" He dag madly in his pot for his weapons, only finding a sewing machine, a Spanish dictionary, and a Mitey plushie.

_Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!_

Swaine was in no mood for patience and began to fire crazily at Al-Khemi, resulting in his retreat for his search. "Ow ow owch! Hey-"_ Pow! Pow! Pow!_

Al-Khemi, now seeing he was dealing with a madman with a gun that could really smart, hopped away as fast as his pot would allow, fleeing the situation with the gunman hot on his heels-if he had heels.

"Hey, you get back here!"

"Gascon, wait-oh dear…" Marcassin was left in the middle of the street, unsure what to do-or who to follow. Should he go to the clinic to Oliver with the rest of the medicine ingredients, or follow his brother as he chased after the alchemy genie?

The young man stood in the street, no longer in a crowd as the watchers had resumed with their daily activities and the hiss of industry resounded in his kingdom once again.

* * *

**The Caramelldansen reference does not belong to me. Hope you enjoyed my fanfic! :)**


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